Opioids, whether used in a clinical or non-clinical environment, are highly addictive and can lead to varying degrees opioid toxicity. Examples of opioids include opium, morphine, codeine, oxycodone, meperidine, fentanyl, hydromorphone, methadone, and propoxyphene. Acute users experience opioid intoxication, wherein the user uses a sufficient amount of an opioid to get a “high”. These acute users may experience overdose symptoms (e.g., opioid-induced coma) when too much of an opioid is taken. An overdose of opioids, because of their effect on the central nervous system (which regulates breathing), can lead to respiratory depression (i.e., a person not breathing) and death.
Treatments have been developed that can block the effects of opioids. For example, an opioid antagonist, such as naloxone, can be administered to reverse the effects of opioid intoxication or overdose. The medication and other emergency aid must be administered in time; otherwise, the lack of oxygen will cause irreparable brain damage or death. However, such medications are not widely available, and in many cases are applied too late to be effective. As such, the existing treatments fail to solve the technical problem of administering medication such as opioid overdose antidotes in an effective period of time to address respiratory depression.